Slick me in pond scum,

Let it conquer my body in algae,

Eukaryotic carrion,

Pilfering my vascular tissue for its own,

Gnawing on my apricot hair to reach the flesh

And bloom.

Break me down and turn me into a swamp flower.

Let me exist only to be food and to be beautiful.

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Caroline Morris is a Philadelphia-based writer and editor who received her B.A. in English literature with a concentration in writing at the Catholic University of America in 2022. Her work wrestles with the nature of femininity, internal and interpersonal relationships, and what it means to have a body. Morris has previously been published by Green Ink Poetry, Hearth & Coffin, The Hyacinth Review, Beaver Magazine, and The Penwood Review, with two honorable mentions for the O'Hagan Poetry Prize.